Tex-Mex Mexican Food Facts, Texas pecans


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Mexican Food Facts

In recent research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Mexican food has increased in popularity and Americans now are eating four times more of it than 20 years ago. Mexican cuisine is becoming a part of mainstream culture. Not only has Mexican food had a major influence on America's meals, it also has had a tremendous effect on market sales. Salsa, a condiment once mainly used only for tacos, outranked ketchup as the No. 1 condiment in the United States.

According to recent data from Information Resources Inc., ketchup sales reached $472.7 million in food, drug and mass outlets. Salsa sales reached $621.6 million in food, drug and mass. Mexican food is now a $1 billion business in food, drug and mass outlets combined. Food experts say Americans are acquiring more adventurous a p petites, demonstrating cravings for new flavors and ingredients. Also, the rise of the Hispanic population, with 35 million Hispanics in the United States according to the 2000 census, has increased the demand for ethnic foods. In the state of Texas, the Hispanic population reached 51% in 2004.

Chuck Wagon Cooks
Did You Know…That the chuck wagon cooks were called a "coosie" from the Spanish word for a male cook "cocinero" or at times referred to as "cookie," "old lady" or "gut robber." He was usually an aging cowboy hired for his ability to drive a wagon rather than his culinary skills. He was paid more than the other hands because the success of the camp and the drive depended greatly on him. A chuck wagon cook would be hired initially for his driving skills of the chuck wagon, and then would be expected to cook, tend to medical situations, barbering skills and bury the casualties during the long cattle drive....yes they worked long and difficult days! Here's another great story: the Dutch oven was the chuck wagon cook's main cooking utensil on the drive. He used it for frying, broiling, baking, boiling and even to store food items. Always made of cast iron, very deep and standing on three legs so as to place a bed of wood or coals underneath it, it was an instant stove! And here's another true "tale"... the cook would wrap a wet tarp around the fresh beef to slow down the spoilage while on the trail...at times, when the meat was really on its last day, the chuck wagon cook would "doctor it up" with chiles, spices and tomatoes....now known as Texas chili!

Chile Facts
Some early Spanish priests, aware of the passion the native people had for Chiles and unsure of the Chile's powers, assumed they were aphrodisiacs and warned against consumption which probably added to their popularity among the adventurous newcomers.

Two of the founding fathers of our country, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are both known to have grown Chiles.

Eating chilies is addicting. When capsaicin comes in contact with the nerves in your mouth, pain signals are sent to the brain. Subsequently, the brain releases endorphins, natural painkillers, that create a feeling of well being. The more spicy food ingested the more endorphins released. The effect is a pleasurable feeling that true Chile heads crave.

A 1994, Red Savina Habanero from GNS Spices has tested an astonishing 577,000 Scoville Units and is believed to be the hottest pepper ever tested. Indian tribes strung chilies together and tied them to their canoes to ward off evils lurking in the water.

The U.S. Territory of Guam is the world's largest per capita consumer of Tabasco sauce, according to the McIlhenny Company. Some people say that Guamanians acquire a passion for hot sauce in the cradle, when mothers lace their babies' bottles with Tabasco. True or not, that story started because Pacific islanders consume the equivalent of almost two 2-ounce bottles of Tabasco sauce per person each year, a feat unmatched in any other country on Earth.

The scientific journal Toxicon reported that drinking a quart and a half of Louisiana-style hot sauce will cause death by respiratory failure if your body weight is 140 pounds or less...

The best relief for a burning mouth is milk, yogurt or sour cream. These foods contain capsaicin, a protein that breaks down the bond that capsaicin forms with the mouth's pain receptors...

Want more? Click here for more Chili Pepper facts.

Texas Pecan Trees
The Pecan Tree: is the largest of all Hickory trees, growth of 80 feet to an impressive 180 feet high, and a girth that can measure 4 to 6 feet near the ground. The branches extend in all directions with the lower branches of the tree sloping downward with grayish brown bark and long toothed leaves. The fruit it bears, the pecan nut, has become one of Texas’ major industry. According to the Texas Pecan Growers Association, the United States produces at least 80 percent of the world's pecans, averaging 300 to 400 million pounds annually. Texas is the second-largest grower in the country, after Georgia. Mexico, Australia, South Africa, Israel, China and Argentina also produce pecans. With an average yield of 250 million pounds per year, 4/5 of the pecans are marketed as shelled nuts. The wood is used for flooring, furniture and paneling.

Texas Pecans
The Pawnees:
These pecans come off the tree ahead of all the other types around mid September.
They are a sweet, thick-skinned solid pecan.

The Chockaws:
These are a thinner shell and meatier flavor pecan.

The Cheyennes:
These are a smaller, oilier pecan and the most favored.

The Kiowas:
These are a semi sweet ,light textured and thin shelled pecan.
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Mexican Food and Gifts To Go offers a selection of Texas pecans gifts in assorted tins suited for just the right occasion and in bulk quantities.
Use the following links to view our gift tins:
Texas toasted pecans
Chocolate-Amaretto pecans

Did You Know....
That in August 1999, a permanently endowed Program for Pecans was established @ Texas A&M University, Dept. of Horticultural Sciences, as a lasting tribute to the state’s most important native horticultural crop. It would fulfill the dream of early pecan pioneers and a large number of growers who spent their lives laying the foundation for the development of the valuable renewable alluvial soil of the great rivers of Texas.

Mexican Food To Go
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Salado, Texas 76571
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